A father-of-one who cultivated cannabis plants to help his mother who was suffering from cancer has received a fully suspended sentence.
Michael O'Sullivan, 34, of Montrose Drive, Artane, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to cultivating cannabis plants at his address on June 28, 2017.
Judge Melanie Greally sentenced him to two year's imprisonment, but suspended the entirety of the sentence on condition that he keep the peace and be of good behaviour for two years.
Garda Peter Morris told Karl Finnegan BL, prosecuting, that on the date in question gardai discovered 36 cannabis plants at different stages of maturity at his address.
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Gardai also discovered a number of lights and extraction equipment.
The total value of the cannabis plants was €28,800.
In interview with gardai, O'Sullivan said he became involved in growing cannabis because his mother was suffering from cancer and he did research that convinced him cannabis oil had homeopathic benefits.
His mother was aware she was taking cannabis oil, but was not aware he was growing cannabis plants himself.
O'Sullivan's mother died in April of 2017, two months before gardai discovered the cannabis plants. He has no previous convictions and is the father of a young child.
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Gda Morris agreed with David Staunton BL, defending, that there was no evidence he was involved with selling the cannabis plants or profiting from them in any way.
He said the reason O'Sullivan continued to cultivate the cannabis after his mother's death is unknown to him.
Mr Staunton said that despite the development of modern medicine, his client's mother was not going to get better and out of misguided desperation he sought any alternative that might help her.
He said O'Sullivan's father had died very shortly beforehand.
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Judge Greally said the value of the plants would usually require a custodial sentence and that the court must mark the fact that grow houses of this scale were not to be condoned regardless of the purpose of the cannabis.
She accepted he cultivated the plants purely to generate cannabis oil to relieve his mother's suffering or to prolong her life.
She said the mitigating factors in the case were his plea of guilty, his co-operation with gardai, his lack of convictions, his remorse and shame and his personal and family circumstances.
